INSIDE WASHINGTON
MARAD Makes New Marine Highway Designations
T
he U.S. Maritime Administration has designated six new Marine Highway Projects as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), which encourages the use of navigable waterways for the movement of freight and people as an alternative to land-based transportation. In May, the department announced the availability of nearly $11 million in grant funding that will be awarded to advance marine highway projects.
Project Designations M-5 Coastal Connector (California/ Oregon/Washington): This designation will support a service transporting goods on barges between Bellingham, Wash.; Southern Oregon; and San Diego, Calif. This project would provide regional cargo interests with additional modal options, reducing truck traffic along Interstate 5. Guam Marine
16 Marine Log // September 2021
Transportation Enhancement Initiative (Guam): This designation will expand and promote inbound and outbound cargo within the islands. Service providers transporting freight utilize U.S. ports in Hawaii and the West Coast before making their way through Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). CNMI Freight Improvement Project: The designation of the CNMI project will support the movement of containers between the Port of Guam and Commonwealth Port Authority ports of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The CNMI is exploring the expansion of its maritime capacities for the shipping of inter-island cargo and commodities to increase frequency and reduce shipping costs. Missouri River Container-on-Barge Project: This designation will expand options for the transportation of goods on inland waterways, including agricultural commodities in containers
originating within Central Missouri from ports and terminals to ocean ports along the Gulf on the M-10. Port Raritan Terminal Facility (New Jersey): This designation will support service from the Raritan Port located in New Jersey to various locations in New York City, accommodating RO/RO barges carrying wheeled containers, ferries capable of carrying trucks, LO/LO barges that can be used to support offshore windenergy turbines and other services. M-90 Transbay Freight Service Project (Wisconsin): This project will be the first to divert the transportation of large vessel modules and materialhandling equipment from the highways to the waterways among Marinette/ Menominee, Sturgeon Bay, and Green Bay. It will help ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of the service and the provision of cost-effective shipping service for that region to sustain and create jobs.
